Fire~! Kemasyarakatan...

It happened last Monday. It was just another morning. Then around 9:45 a.m. I heard my opposite neighbour screaming. She screams every day so it's rather not surprising, but this time round she screamed right in front of my house. She screamed in Cantonese and I have no idea what she was screaming about. Then I heard FIRE in Cantonese. Thank God I still have Chinese ears. I opened my front door and thick grey smoke rushed into the house. In a few minutes time, I stepped out of the house and saw more smoke. It looked like it came from my house and I was thinking it should be right if I leave my house. Suddenly, almost all the neighbours from the far end stood in front of my house. I took a closer look and heaved a sigh of relief. My house was not on fire. The smoke came out of the chimney from the building down below and since the wind was blowing towards our side and my house is at the corner, the whole house was filled with thick smelly smoke before long. I joined my neighbours watching the flame and then I rushed back into my house to grab my camera and took a few pictures. After a few minutes, two men climbed up the zinc roof. That roof belonged to the kitchen area of a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant. The two men trying to put off the fire were Malay guys. They must be just passers-by. You don't expect the Malays to be dining in a Chinese restaurant, that will be against the law. In Malaysia, we are a multi-racial nation. It is common to see other races helping another race. It's common to see Indians helping a poor Chinese lady to push the car when the car breaks down. It's a common sight to see a Malay risking his life to save another Chinese or Indian. But it's unusual for a Chinese helping another race or their own race. We should stop being such a racist. I'm not a racist. Those who always try to create racism issue that's not there ought to check themselves and shift out of this country if they can't tolerate living together. Shame on those who always look down and criticize another race when they have never experience true friendship with people from another race.That Malay man put out the fire. Two other men came helping, one with the extinguisher which helped in one section of the roof. The one on the right actually hosed down the fire from the window. After about 10 minutes, the fire has been extinguised. Three fire trucks came AFTER the fire has been put off. If there's anyone trapped in the burning building, that person would have turn into smoked bacon or charred meat. My neighbour called the fire station earlier but had to explain how to get to the place. Shouldn't they know the map of Penang like it has been drafted on their palms? People who panicked can't really explain which junction to turn at times. That Malay man ought to be given a medal and recognition for putting out the fire and not let it spread to the whole row of shouphouses.